Drug-induced pigmentation

Drug induced pigmentation may take on many different appearances, one of the most common being a change in the color, or pigmentation, of the skin.

## Contents

* 1 Presentation
* 2 Cause
* 3 Pathophysiology
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## Presentation

Drug/Drug Group | Clinical Features [1]

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NSAIDs | Purple, red, yellow, slate, or blue-grey pigmented macules on the extremities and trunk – drug eruption
Antimalarials | Blue-ish pigmentation of lower extremities, but can also involve the entire nail bed, nose, cheeks, forehead, ears, and oral mucosa
Psychotropic Drugs | Blue-gray pigmentation on sun-exposed areas
Amiodarone | Blue-gray pigmentation on sun-exposed areas and yellow stippling of cornea
Tetracyclines | Brown pigmentation, most often on teeth
Heavy Metals | Gold – blue-gray pigmentation on sun-exposed areas, Silver – Silver granules in skin, nails, mucous membranes
Cytotoxic drug | Variable by molecule

## Cause

Drug-induced pigmentation of the skin may occur as a consequence of drug administration, and the mechanism may be postinflammatory hyperpigmentation in some cases, but frequently is related to actual deposition of the offending drug in the skin.[2]: 125–6 The incidence of this change varies, and depends on the type of medication involved. Some of the most common drugs involved are NSAIDs, antimalarials, psychotropic drugs, Amiodarone, cytotoxic drugs, tetracyclines, and heavy metals such as silver and gold (which must be ingested, not just worn).[1]

## Pathophysiology

There are 4 possible mechanisms to how this change may occur:[1]

1. Accumulation of melanin, the skin pigment
2. Accumulation of drug or one of its products under any layer of the skin (usually the dermis or epidermis)
3. Accumulation of iron throughout the dermis from drug-induced post-inflammatory changes
4. The synthesis of special pigments, under direct influence of the drug

## See also

* Skin lesion

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dereure, O. (2001). Drug-Induced Skin Pigmentation: Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Treatment. American Journal of Clinical Dermotology, 2(4), 253-262.
2. ↑ James, William; Berger, Timothy; Elston, Dirk (2005). Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology. (10th ed.). Saunders. ISBN 0-7216-2921-0.

## External links

Classification|

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External resources|

* eMedicine: article/1069686

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